What Can Artificial Intelligence Bring to Manufacturing?

There is hardly any industry today, that is unaffected by the rapid advancements in technology, and more specifically, the new solutions that can be implemented through the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence), and Machine Learning (ML). Experts and companies around the world are eagerly looking for ways to optimize their performance, decrease their costs, and automate processes, while also creating superior quality outputs. Artificial Intelligence can play a key role in achieving these goals.

Being a buzzword as AI is, we hear it often from a variety of sources in many different contexts, so it is not a coincidence that there are many misconceptions around it too. But what is AI really?

 According to the definition by Built In:

“Artificial intelligence (AI) is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence.”

Machine Learning (ML), as a subset of AI, allows the machine to mimic human intelligence, through statistical tools, and data. As a result, processes and tasks that were previously only possible to be accomplished through the involvement of humans can become automated. Manufacturing, among many other areas of use, can benefit from the introduction of artificial intelligence to their daily operations. Even though these solutions are promising, manufacturers globally have a relatively low rate of adoption of AI in their activities currently.

There are multiple reasons for this:

●     Many manufacturers lack the necessary expertise, infrastructure, and resources needed.

●     Adopting AI can take a longer time, which can often be difficult to reconcile with ongoing business needs.

●     Due to the lack of information, company decision-makers might not have knowledge about the possibilities of AI or can have misconceptions about it.

While AI still experiences a slowly increasing rate of adoption in manufacturing, there already are a variety of use cases that are growing the interest around these solutions.

By making it possible to enhance the employees’ capabilities in certain tasks, and remove them from dangerous positions, can enhance safety, and reduce negative health consequences or limitations in the implementation.

AI can also be used to identify any possible malfunctions in the manufacturing infrastructure more quickly, and reliably. Maintenance can be supported, and instead of reacting to failures. In the case of automated screwdrivers, for instance, AI can detect any deformities on the screws, torque, and other important factors during assembly. AI-supported predictions can anticipate when should human operators take action, to ensure flawless production.

In the near future, it is expected that AI combined with a variety of other technologies will be able to result in much more effective manufacturing processes and create innovative solutions within this field. Even though many manufacturers today might not feel that they have the necessary skillset, resources to adopt AI solutions in their production. However, with incremental steps, and the continuous development of new solutions, it is becoming more readily available for most companies.

Furthermore, AI can produce non-linear returns after its adoption. Automation in some key areas can lead to significant ROI even in a short time.

Learn more about how can manufacturers benefit from AI, and automation on our website.